Independence Day 1861

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(From the History of Mt. Pleasant, by Hilda Madsen Longsdorf)

Independence Day, July the 4th, 1861, was celebrated with appropriate ceremonies. A new flag pole was erected on the Church Square. It was one straight, long pole brought from the mountains by Svend Larsen, Abraham Day, William Morrison Sr., and others, and prepared with a plane and' draw knife brought from Norway by Erick Gunderson Sr., was set up by Erick Gunderson Sr., Gunder E. Gunderson, Jacob Rolfson , William Morrison Sr., and others. There was much rejoicing; an ox had been killed for the occasion and a public dinner was given in the bowery, on the south side in the square. A pitch pine torch in each corner of the bowery furnished the light for the dance held in the evening, for which music was furnished by John Waldermar, James Hansen, Lars Nielsen (Fiddler), and others. All enjoyed them selves to the utmost. R. N. Bennett states, "I recall the dances held often in the old bowery, dancing on the dirt floor, some of us barefoot, but we would make the dust fly. Bishop Seeley was great on big eats. A saying was, 'We'll cut a squash, kill a chicken and have a treat.' The only fruit I remember we ever had were bull berries, service berries, and choke cherries, these were dried and used in the winter, too."

History of Mt. Pleasant p. 72 by Hilda Madsen Longsdorf